Herald of Steel

While Alexander stuck to his word for once, which was a rare occurrence for sure, Ptolomy instead of gloating or even being happy, looked at Alexander with a deep wrinkles on his forehead.

'This is all wrong. That's not how the script was supposed to go!' Ptolomy cursed inside.

What he had expected was for Alexander to backtrack and then he would swoop in with an offer he couldn't refuse.

Ptolomy had intended to give Alexander some lands around the banks of the river Naher, which was prime, fertile farmland while keeping him close to him, primarily to use him to get all the jobs done.

In just two days, Alexander had proven himself to be a hyper-competent administrator, and not even mentioning his military success, just the former quality would have been enough for him to become a Jamidar (Earl), if not a Matbar (Marquis).

But he could not do this if Alexander became a Pasha (Duke) as he would then be required to see to his own lands.

Thus Ptolomy tried to dissuade him, "Commander, I would advise you to reconsider. Zanzan is really not good. Its population and economy have been decimated, both from the drought and from how the army would frequently recruit from the local population and use them as front-line fodders."

He further added, "And this is why I didn't mind giving it Cantagena. Because it's a wasteland, with its land being rocky and hilly, and even the flat pieces only have heavy clay soil that grows nothing. If you plant a hundred turnips, less than three will grow, and even then those three combined will not be equal to a signal turnip you can grow in Jibatoo, which lies on the bank of river Naher. That's here," Ptolomy pointed to a place on the left bank of the river that ran through the center of the country.

"Hehe, Your Majesty's willing to give this poor soldier such prized land warms this soldier's small heart." Alexander chuckled at Ptolomy's offering.

But then he got upto his old tricks, creating reasons where none existed, "But Your Majesty, Zanzan is not just any province. It's a very strategic place."

This 'revelation' caused Ptolomy to look at Alexander with interest and intrigue.

And seeing the fish had taken the bait, Alexander decided to reel it in, "Your Majesty, think about it. Zantan is right next to Tibias. So why did Cantagena want it and not Tibias?"

"That…" Ptolomy too had found it strange but didn't think too much about it.

How Cantagena and Tibias divided their loot was upto them.

Alexander shook his head saying, "We certainly don't know why they wanted to do this, but we can definitely say for sure it was not something good for Adhania. And so we must stop it."

"But Tibias is our ally!" Ptolomy blurted out confused.

Hearing this, Alexander's tone turned didactic, "Your Majesty, please understand that Tibias is no longer your ally. In your original plan, Amenheraft would have lost his army and his city, and with the ongoing drought, that would have been his final nail in the coffin as the nobles would abandon him."
Ptolomy was stunned by how accurately an outsider, a mere layman, no, a former slave was able to dismantle the complex inner working of their schemes with no inside information.

And it made him unconsciously shiver.

But Alexander did not notice this subtle change as he continued, "But now, even if Amenheraft loses the city, many nobles will still regard him as the man who ended the drought. And then Amenheraft, under their asylum can give Tibias and Cantagenans the same if not better conditions to turn against you."

"That.." Ptolomy tried to counter.

But was shut out by Alexander.

"And if your Majesty gives Tibias and Cantagena the land you promised, Amenheraft will certainly call you out for selling out Adhania, Even the small number of nobles that support you will them turn against you because they will view the selling of their country as the ultimate betrayal."

"But, commander..according to the original…" Ptolomy mumbled.

"I have often wondered how Your Majesty could have agreed to give his country's land away." Alexander finished Ptolomy's sentence for him.

Then he gave his own thoughts, "And I reasoned that the three powers that orchestrated this probably would have discarded you as a scapegoat after they had finished carving up the new territories".

"No noble can tolerate a king that gives away lands to foreign powers to help him usurp the throne. Certainly not the nobles of a proud and strong country like Adhania.

Alexander had spoken quite some dangerous things and used some choice words such as 'usurper' to describe Ptolomy.

But instead of being offended, the king now sighed in amazement, saying, "*Sigh*, Alexander. I have confirmed from hundreds of people that you were truly a slave. And even then I still have a hard time believing it. I think you are even more intelligent than my brother or even Pasha Farzah."

"You honor me too much," Alexander bowed with fake modesty.

Then Alexander asked a question that had crept into his mind some time ago, "Your Majesty, Adhania seems like a huge country. So the drought should not have been as severe as it was. Even if crops in some areas failed, it could have been supplemented by food from other provinces. So what happened?"

Ptolomy here drew a rueful smile and said, "The drought did truly hit the entire country. Places like Adhan and Zanzan were hit particularly hard, but most of the country was too hit."

Ptolomy with a nod then said, "But yes, as you said the drought should not have been as catastrophic as it was."

"And the reason why it did was because the various Pashas refused to provide aid as a way to punish father."

Ptomoly looked at Alexander saying, "We would not have rebelled if he didn't have the tacit approval of all the major powers."

Alexander was honestly surprised by how the previous king had managed to antagonize all his major retainers.

'These powerful people certainly had their own frictions, and to get them to unite together to hate you unilaterally is really something,' Alexander somewhat praised the previous king.

At last, Alexander asked about the excuse with what he bought Ptolomy here, "Your Majesty, where are Amenheraft's troops now?"

Ptolomy here gave a detailed report, "Three weeks ago, just before my rebellion, my spies reported that the army was here- The horn of tress." Ptolomy pointed to a peninsula at the eastern southernmost edge of the map.

"So, they should be here by now today." Ptolomy placed his hand a bit upper to the city of Zanzan.

"What is the scale of this map?" Alexander asked curiously, intrigued to know the true size of Adhania.

"Scale?" Ptolomy pronounced in confusion.

This word was said not in Azhak but in Thesian as both Ptolomy and his translator seemed confused by the new term.

So Alexander elucidated, "How big is the map compared to the real Adhania? How much does one centimeter in the map represent in real life?"

The duo was even then confused by Alexander and it took a bit more effort to make them understand the novel concept Alexander was rewarded with a giant shake of the head for all his effort.

"Commander's ideas are truly revolutionary. I had never thought of that!" Ptolomy praised.

And then he gave Alexander the information he wanted, "The Horn of Tress is around two hundred kilometers from Zanzan by sea. And Zanzan is an additional eight hundred kilometers from us. It's been twenty days since by rebellion and that's why I believe they must be around two hundred kilometers past Zanzan by now."

"A twenty-kilometer-a-day march- average," Alexander loudly commented.

And then stated, "So, it will take a month for Amenheraft to attack us!"

Alexander was not pleased but not too unhappy as he could cobble together some army in this time frame.

But for the first time, Ptolomy corrected Alexander's mistake, "I'm afraid it won't take that long. The road between Zanzan and Adhan is very good. I would even go as far as to say it's the best road in the whole of Adhania."

This made Alexander look at the man in askance as roads between cities weren't really a thing at this time.



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And so, with immeasurable pride in his heart. Ptolomy elaborated. "Zanzan was built basically as a fortress to deal with the threat of Tibias posed to us, with it being so close to the capital. So, the royal family spared to cost to build and maintain this road so that the fortress could be reinforced and resupplied at the quickest time possible."

Ptolomy then reminded Alexnader, "That was how Manuk was able to bring the slinger. He put them on the horses the cavalries used and rode through the open road like the wind."

'This Manik guy is formidable,' Alexander made a mental note and then asked the critical question, "So how long?"

"Three weeks. Tops." Ptolomy gave Alexander his deadline.